Treadle switch



E. WERNER TREADLE SWITCH May 13, 1930.

' Filed June 9, 1928 11v VENTOR EVl/erner FILE.

jzui A TTORNE Y Patented May 13, 1930 PATENT OFFICE ERHARD WERNER, OFNEW YORK, N. Y.

TREADLE SWITCH Application filed June 9, 1928.

The main object of this invention is to provide a device whichautomatically secures a door in locked position and simultaneouslyilluminates a sign for the purpose of indicating that a hold-up istaking place and, at the same time, looking the marauder Within theconfines of the building.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device for capturingmarauders and 1c locking a door through the closing of an electricalcircuit which is actuated by the foot of the person being held-up. Thedevice is particularly adapted to be used in banks or counting houseswhere such happenings are liable 15 to occur most frequently.

The above and other objects will become apparent in the descriptionbelow, in which characters of reference refer to likenamed parts in thedrawing.

Referring briefly to the drawing, Figure 1 is a perspective view ofacountingroomshowing a door at the corner and the device as applied.

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the locking bolt mechanism, thecover of the casing holding the locking bolt being removed.

Figure 3 is a sectional side elevational view of the circuit closure foractuating the locking bolt and the illuminating sign.

Figure i is a top plan View of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a wiring diagram of the device.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the numeral indicates the bench of acounting room. This bench has its front enclosed by grill work 11 inwhich windows 12 are located. On the outside of the wall 13 of thecounting room and exposed to the view of the passersby in the street abox 14 is mounted in which blanked-out letters reading Hold-up areformed. Within this box a filament lamp 15 is located so that the raysof the lamp, when illuminated, will pass through the blankedout lettersin said box. The entrance door 16 of the counting room, which opens intothe street, and is the only unguarded entrance of the counting room, isframed in a casing 17. Adjacent the upper corner of this casing arectangular container 18 is mounted. The front wall 19 of this containerhas an opening therein through which the reduced end Serial No. 284,061.

20 of a locking bolt 21 is adapted to be projected. Near the oppositeend of the bolt an encircling recess 22 is formed which has engagedtherein a member which will be more fully hereinafter described. Thislocking bolt 21 is movable in a housing 23 and is adapted to beprojected into a recess 24 formed near the upper corner of the door 16,said recess being illustrated in broken lines in Figure 2. lVithin thehousing a coil spring 25 is located. This coil spring seats on the endwall of the housing and has seated thereon one end of the locking boltand is adapted to project the latter so that its reduced end 20 isprojected out ofthe opening in the wall 19. An electromagnet solenoid 26is mounted within the container 18 and has a slidable locking plunger 27operable therein. This locking plunger has a pointed end which isadapted to engage and seat on the shoulder of the recess 22 and retainsaid locking bolt 21 in telescoped position within the container.

At a plurality of positions behind and beneath the bench 1O symmetricalwells 28 are formed. These wells are covered by platforms 29 which arenormally retained in a position level with the floor 30 of the countingroom by springs 31 which are wound about guide studs 32. One of thewalls 33, bounding the wells 28, has a rigid finger 3% projectingtherefrom and beneath this rigid finger at second flexible fingermounted. The rigid finger 34; is superimposed above the flexible finger35 and extends outwardly from the wall 33 in aligned relation. Betweenthe studs 32, which yieldably support the platforms 29, a lug 36 ismounted. This lug has one arm 37 of a right-angled bell crank pivotallysecured thereto. The opposite arm 38 of the bell crank extends angularlyupward and its end contacts with the flexible finger That portion of thebell crank at the intersection of the arms 37 and 38 is rounded so thatit is freely slidably upon the bottom 39 .of the well. A lead wire 40extends from the solenoid and its opposite end is connected to theterminal of the flexible finger 35. A second lead wire 41 is connectedto the remaining solenoid 26 and to the terminal of the rigid finger 34.This lead Wire 41 has a source of energy 42 connected in series thereto.

The device is adapted to simultaneously illuminate the letters locatedin the boX 14 reading Hold-up and, at the same time, lock the door afterthe teller has depressed the platform 29. Depressing this platformcauses the bell crank to be rotated and this bell crank, being incontact with and beneath the flexible finger 35, lifts the latter andcauses it to contact With the rigid finger 34. This closes an electricalcircuit through the solenoid 26 which is then energized and with drawsthe locking plunger 27 out of the re cess 22 in the locking bolt 21. Thelocking bolt is then in condition to have its reduced end 20 projectedinto the recess 24 and this is accomplished by the expansion of the coilspring 25. In order to reseat the locking bolt it is necessary that thecover be removed from the container 18 so that the marauder has nochance of disconnecting the locking bolt from the door.

It is to be noted that certain changes in 7 form and construction may bemade Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

In a hold-up alarm, a floating platform, vertical studs projecting fromthe underside of said platform, coiled springs surrounding saidstuds andurging said platform upward, a. bell crank having its arms mutually atrightangles to. each other, one of said arms being longer than theother, the longer of said arms being pivotally secured to the undersideof saidplatform, a casing adapted to receive said platform, the elbowof'said bell crank resting upon the bottom of said casing, said studspassing through recesses in the bottom of said casing, the lower ends ofsaid springs resting upon the bottom of said casing, said bell crankbeing rotated upon depression of said platform so that the longerarmmoves in a downward direction and the shorter arm in an upwarddirection, and electrical circuit" closing means adapted to be movedinto the closed position by the upward movement of said shorter arm.

In testimony whereof I' affix my signature.

ERHARD EEN-ER.

